Teachers

"If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day; if you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime"
~Chinese proverb

Hullo folks!

I've been steadily slogging through my homework today. I'm about to turn blue in the face... so I'll probably write this post and then go for a run.

The most fascinating thing about being in a doctoral program is to realize how much all the learning acquired in the past 20 years of schooling connects - and the true value of education. The single most important thing I've learned in furthering my education... is how much we impact each other.

I've come to realize that I have a lot of friends from very different backgrounds. And all of those who are not of the same socioeconomic level have had some detrimental affect to their health. They never had dental care as a child - and now have cavities and crowns galore. They grew up smoking and will probably never be able to stop. They don't have health insurance and end up severely in debt when a crisis requiring a hospital occurs. No one ever told them how to love themselves or stop negative thinking, so now they've hit a cycle of depression which will take medications to overcome.

It's not that people of higher socioeconomic status don't have problems too. It's just that you will undoubtedly have problems flourishing and being as healthy as possible if you lack the knowledge and resources.

So what shocks me is how little we use our knowledge and ability to reach those who have not. It's not just the government's problem to get everyone access to health care. It's also not just about giving money to the homeless person. And finally, it's not a one time deal. You can't just come into someone's life and say "stop smoking... it's going to kill you" and expect them to change. Promoting health and life is about spending time with people who are different from you, consistently modeling a healthy lifestyle yourself, and sharing the knowledge you have.

For example, when you help someone get out of a rut of negative thinking, you are basically teaching them behavioral cognitive techniques. Those of us who grew up in loving families, or at least one good teachers, sports coach, grandmother, friend etc., may have learned those skills from someone. But there are people out there who have no one - not one person who shows interest in having an invested relationship with them. Remember the post on true poverty?

So there are a few take home points in this post

1) Invest in relationships in general
2) Invest in relationships with people who are different from you
3) Never underestimate your ability to positively impact/teach someone through your words and actions. We are all teachers.
4) Real education takes a relationship

#Education #Teachersrock #Healthypeople2010 #Shalom